How Long Is the Present?
<p>Charlie, one of my dearest classmates from high school, wrote to tell me he had stage three cancer. I don’t know what that means. I don’t <em>want</em> to know. Fortunately, he didn’t tell me until he was already on the mend.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, I’m better now, I’m even running again.”</p>
<p>That was a kindness. He provided me with the sense of urgency that makes you stop putting off plans, but spared me the anguish of what he’d been through.</p>
<p>I’m young enough that this is the first message I’ve received like that, but old enough to know that this is only the beginning.</p>
<p>Yesterday, I sat down with Charlie’s family to eat dinner. We happened to be in town, and I said, “Let’s meet at the Mall of America.” He showed up with his wife and his two kids and we went to a place called the Rain Forest Cafe. It was like a restaurant from Disney World. It had animatronic animals.</p>
<p>I had a big smile on my face the whole time we were together. It was like a free vacation. We just waved our wands and made it happen. There was no planning other than the need to get together, and it all worked out perfectly.</p>
<p>It made me stop and wonder why it’s so infrequent that we find the time to stop and savor a moment.</p>
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